Iranian Authorities Execute 8 Prisoners in Public in Less than a Week

Persian2English – Four prisoners were hanged in public in Shiraz, Fars (southern Iran) today. According to the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Fars, two of the men, “Abdollah Gh. Ch” and “Soleiman Gh. Ch” were charged with sodomy. The NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) has suggested that the two men may have been executed for sexual relationship with the same sex, because there was no mention of rape related to their charge in the Iranian Judiciary’s reporting. According to the Iranian Judiciary’s report, the two other prisoners were identified as “Ebadollah H” and “Hossein T”, convicted of kidnapping and rape.

Two more prisoners were hanged in Karaj, Alborz (west of Tehran), reports Iran’s state-run media. Iranian authorities carried out one of the executions in public and the other in prison. The man hanged in public was reportedly convicted of the kidnapping and rape of a woman, while the man executed in prison was reportedly charged with sexual abuse of minors.

IHR has strongly condemned the executions. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, IHR’s spokesperson, says: “We urge international condemnation of today’s barbaric executions. There is a possibility that two of the men who were executed today were charged with and sentenced to death for sexual relationship with other men. Iranian authorities should be held accountable for these inhumane acts.”

On Sunday, August 3rd, Iranian authorities executed three prisoners in public in an area in Shiraz called Guyom. According to the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Fars, the three prisoners (who were not identified by name) were charged with “Moharebeh” (waging war against God) through armed robbery and had also committed rape.

A large banner at the execution site listed the names of the prisoners as: Mohammad Ghareh Ghaani, Bahman Koochakpour, Peyman Rostami.

According to IHR’s annual reports on the death penalty from 2012 and 2013, most public executions in Iran were carried out in the province of Fars.